The economic mess in Greece is a result of faulty math. No matter how much the leaders in Athens wanted two plus two to equal pi, the laws of arithmetic didn’t allow it. Even the silly socialists of the European Union couldn’t pretend to violate those rules forever.

The Greeks, of all cultures, should understand how this math stuff works. These are the people who gave us Euclid, Pythagoras — and who can forget Eudoxus of Cnidus? (Am I right, ladies?) Back in those good old days, the Greeks used letters of the alphabet to represent numerals. They chose mu to represent 10,000, since the full name was myriad.

I’m no numerologist, but myriad pops up again and again among the greatest moments in Western civilization:

• The Greek Army of the 10,000 marched against Persia’s 10,000 Immortals.
• The Bible references the number 10,000 more than 50 times.
• There are 10,000 species of birds.
• Minnesota is the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”
• The old guy in Up tied 10,000 helium balloons to his house.
• I once owned a 10,000 Maniacs cassette, but I let my girlfriend keep it because I only liked that one song.

Like these pivotal times in world history, Ricochet is also tied to the number 10,000. That is how many official members we need to keep this site a going concern for the long term. We’re close to that — tantalizingly so — but need to get over that bubble. And what happens when we do? I’m not promising a renewal of Western civ to create a new golden age of peace, prosperity and plenty, but that is a likely side effect.

When you become a member, you will enjoy the lively give-and-take with the internet’s smartest, most civil community, free of those annoying trolls you find everywhere else. You can post your own stories and maybe even see a few on the front page. You can attend meetups where you’ll meet your favorite authors, editors, and members, and perhaps even con me into buying you a shot of ouzo. You’ll also show that a smart, friendly site can make the free market work on the web.

Have a month free on me. Click here and enter the coupon code “JOIN” to see what you think. Then you will enter the annals of history as a member of Ricochet’s Myriad. Eudoxus of Cnidus would have wanted it that way.